Contents

A vicious pirate known as the Albino is cutting a deadly swath across space, creating turmoil in the Klingon Empire that threatens to spill into the Federation. But this criminal also has a secret that could shake the halls of Imperial power, and his genocidal plans against the race that bore him will have consequences even he cannot imagine, as several unlikely allies join swords to bring the Albino to justice: Hikaru Sulu of the USS Excelsior; Klingon captains Kor, Koloth, and Kang; and a hotheaded young Federation diplomat named Curzon Dax. Tempered in the flames of their shared adversity, a captaincy is forged, a Blood Oath is sworn... and a hunt begins that will stretch from one generation to the next.

Work on Forged in Fire began as far back as 2001, when Marco Palmieri approached Martin and Mangels to write the story. A number of delays caused by other projects prevented the novel from being completed immediately. After hoping it would be published by late 2004/early 2005 – as reported in Star Trek Magazine issue 113 – it took until December 2007 for a suitable schedule slot to open for the book's release.

This novel reveals the reasons for the differences between the Trill seen in "The Host" – such as Odan – and the Trill seen in DS9; the Odan style of Trill came into existence after a Trill colony was infected by the Klingon augment virus after Klingon traders visited their world, although by the time in the novel, the Trill have accepted this "offshoot" race into their society with little objection. The novel also features the first occasion where outsiders learn of the existence of Trill symbiotes, with Kor, Kang, Koloth, and Sulu all learning about Curzon's symbiote, although each of them promise to remain silent about it out of respect for Curzon's wishes.